| No. 5 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1951-02-12)February 12, 1951 (age 74) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Jones Valley (AL) |
| College: | Auburn Jacksonville State |
| Career history | |
As a player: | |
As a coach: | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Stats atPro Football Reference  | |
Ralph Dieter Brock (born February 12, 1951) is an American formerfootball player and coach. He played professionally as aquarterback in theCanadian Football League (CFL) andNational Football League (NFL). He is best remembered as the quarterback for the CFL'sWinnipeg Blue Bombers, leading the league in passing for four years.[1]
Brock was born inBirmingham, Alabama.[2][3] He attendedAuburn University andJacksonville State University,[4] and graduated from Jacksonville State University in 1974.[5][6]
After college graduation, Brock signed a one-year contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and was a starting quarterback in 1975.[7] Nicknamed "The Birmingham Rifle", Brock is only one of two Blue Bombers players to win back-to-backCFL Most Outstanding Player awards in the1980 and1981 CFL seasons.[8][9] In 1981, Brock brokeSam Etcheverry's 1956 record of 4,723 passing yards with 4,796 yards.[10] Brock started his illustrious professional football career as a little used back-up quarterback for the Bombers in 1974. That season, the team traded away their aging star passerDon Jonas to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the much youngerChuck Ealey.[11] About midway through the 1975 season, Brock became the starter and that resulted in Ealey being sent to theToronto Argonauts.[12]
In1981, Brock won his second consecutive Most Outstanding Player Award. This season was the best statistical season in his professional career. On October 3, when Winnipeg played in Ottawa, Brock set a record for pass completions in a game (41), and placed third for most consecutive passes completed in a game (16).
That year, he set the following CFL single season passing records, which have since been surpassed:
Brock posted career highs in pass percentage (62.5), pass touchdowns (32), percentage of pass attempts going for touchdowns (5.7), and pass efficiency (97.3).
Despite Winnipeg finishing second place in the West Division several times, getting to two West Division Finals, and Brock having personal success, the Blue Bombers were never able to advance to the Grey Cup during Brock's tenure.
When Brock left the Blue Bombers, he held team records in the following career passing categories: yards (29,623), completions (2,168), attempts (3,777), touchdowns (187), and interceptions (129).
In 1983, Brock played part of the season withWinnipeg, and finished the season with theHamilton Tiger-Cats after he was traded there in exchange for Hamilton quarterbackTom Clements.[13] Hamilton lost the East Division Final to the eventualGrey Cup Champion, Toronto Argonauts.
The 1984 season was Brock's last in the CFL. Brock's Tiger-Cats faced Clements' Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup. Despite early success and a 14-point lead for Hamilton, Winnipeg defeated Hamilton 47–17.
Brock ended his career CFL career without a Grey Cup victory, but had many accomplishments. Upon completion of his CFL career, Brock ranked second all-time in the following CFL career passing categories:
Brock left the CFL after ten seasons and joined theNational Football League for the 1985 season. In what would be his only season playing in the NFL, Brock signed with theLos Angeles Rams as a 34-year-old rookie, setting the NFL record for oldest rookie quarterback in history. Despite the team's star running backEric Dickerson holding out the first two games over a contract dispute, Brock led the team to a 7–0 start, a feat no other quarterback would accomplish in their first season with a team again untilBen Roethlisberger started 13–0 with theSteelers in 2004.[14] Brock led the team to a division title, the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs, and set team rookie records for passing yards (2,658), touchdown passes (16), and passer rating (81.8) (most of his rookie passing records have since been broken). Brock's final game was the 1985NFC Championship Game against theChicago Bears, where he only managed 66 yards passing and lost a fumble thatWilber Marshall returned for a touchdown to close out the scoring in a 24–0 game.
In the 1986 preseason, Brock suffered an injury to his left knee on a tackle byBo Eason of theHouston Oilers in the first exhibition game on August 2. Brock underwent arthroscopic knee surgery the following week and went on the injured reserve list the next month.[15] Although the Rams hadSteve Bartkowski as backup, they elected to deal with the Oilers and their new draft pickJim Everett (who they had a dispute with over signing).[15]
When Brock did tests with the team later in the month to test his knee, he aggravated his back (which he stated had been a chronic problem since 1982). Tests revealed he had a "degenerative disk in his lower back", one that could not be corrected by surgery due to the nature of his throwing position, in which he would wrench his back each time he moved to let go of a pass (cortisone injections proved futile).[16] One of five quarterbacks on the roster, he was released by the team after the year ended; he chose to move on from playing football to a coaching career.
Brock still holds the Blue Bombers record for career passing yards with 29,623. In 2005, for the commemoration of the Blue Bombers' 75th anniversary, Brock was named one of the 20 All-Time Blue Bomber Greats. He was elected into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 1995.[17]
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1974 | WPG | 16 | 12 | 27 | 44.4 | 176 | 6.5 | 0 | 2 | 35.4 | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 |
| 1975 | WPG | 16 | 116 | 244 | 47.5 | 1,911 | 7.8 | 11 | 9 | 74.0 | 36 | 173 | 4.8 | 2 |
| 1976 | WPG | 16 | 223 | 402 | 55.4 | 3,101 | 7.7 | 17 | 18 | 75.9 | 46 | 72 | 1.6 | 2 |
| 1977 | WPG | 16 | 242 | 418 | 57.8 | 3,063 | 7.3 | 23 | 19 | 80.2 | 62 | 220 | 3.6 | 6 |
| 1978 | WPG | 16 | 294 | 486 | 60.5 | 3,755 | 7.7 | 23 | 18 | 85.0 | 28 | 47 | 1.7 | 3 |
| 1979 | WPG | 15 | 194 | 354 | 54.8 | 2,383 | 6.7 | 15 | 12 | 75.8 | 30 | 97 | 3.2 | 1 |
| 1980 | WPG | 16 | 304 | 514 | 59.1 | 4,252 | 8.3 | 28 | 12 | 94.3 | 43 | 87 | 2.0 | 4 |
| 1981 | WPG | 16 | 354 | 566 | 62.5 | 4,796 | 8.5 | 32 | 15 | 97.3 | 35 | 116 | 3.3 | 0 |
| 1982 | WPG | 16 | 314 | 543 | 57.8 | 4,294 | 7.9 | 28 | 15 | 88.9 | 33 | 123 | 3.7 | 4 |
| 1983 | WPG | 6 | 115 | 223 | 51.6 | 1,892 | 8.5 | 10 | 9 | 78.5 | 13 | 38 | 2.9 | 2 |
| HAM | 6 | 114 | 197 | 57.9 | 1,241 | 6.3 | 8 | 6 | 77.4 | 14 | 24 | 1.7 | 2 | |
| 1984 | HAM | 15 | 320 | 561 | 57.0 | 3,966 | 7.1 | 15 | 23 | 70.9 | 48 | 134 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Career | 170 | 2,602 | 4,535 | 57.4 | 34,830 | 7.7 | 210 | 158 | 82.8 | 390 | 1,137 | 2.9 | 32 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1985 | LARams | 15 | 15 | 11–4 | 218 | 365 | 59.7 | 2,658 | 7.3 | 16 | 13 | 82.0 | 20 | 38 | 1.9 | 0 |
| Career | 15 | 15 | 11–4 | 218 | 365 | 59.7 | 2,658 | 7.3 | 16 | 13 | 82.0 | 20 | 38 | 1.9 | 0 | |
In every episode of theDave Dameshek Football Program oniTunes, Dameshek andAdam Rank compete over who can make the best organic reference to Dieter Brock. He appeared as a guest on their 100th episode.[18]